Analyzing Management Issues: Compensation, Culture & VUCA - Case Study

This assignment presents a detailed case study focusing on management challenges related to compensation, organizational culture, and navigating a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment. The first case involves Renate Schmidt addressing compensation issues for a newly appointed expatriate, highlighting conflicting values related to employee morale and cost management. The second case examines the Parivar organization, grappling with cultural clashes and high turnover rates due to a hierarchical structure and paternalistic culture. The analysis provides advice to both Renate and Sudhir, suggesting strategies such as deeper research, cost-benefit analysis, cultural shifts, and structural changes to improve organizational effectiveness. The assignment concludes by proposing a flat organizational structure for Parivar to address retention issues and foster a more competitive environment.

Running head: CASE STUDY ACTIVITIES
CASE STUDY ACTIVITIES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CASE STUDY ACTIVITIES
Table of Contents
Case discussion Activity..................................................................................................................2
Case discussion activity for Topic 9............................................................................................2
Case discussion activity for Topic 10..........................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................7

2CASE STUDY ACTIVITIES
Case discussion Activity
Case discussion activity for Topic 9
In the given case study, Renate Schmidt has been faced with a management problem
which deals with the compensation of the newly appointed expatriate (Baker, 2017). The case
study has various managerial threats for the firm whereby the compensation which will be
offered to Anne is more than what is paid to the head of the organization and hence, Renate
believes that she will be required to adjust the pay but as Anne will be leaving the job in America
and hence, will be required to be compensated in that case.
Answer to Question 1
The different conflicting values in the case study:
Conflicting values can be rightfully described as the presence of certain factors which
tend to have an extensive impact on the functioning of a firm. The values in the case are as
follows:
1. The efficiency of the expatriate: Anne has been a crucial candidate for the job positioning
at the firm and has single handedly looked after various ventures of her prior companies
which makes her even more suitable for her previous organization (Kramar et al., 2014).
Engaging in this, the organization will be successfully able to ensure success and hence,
her recruitment is crucial.
2. The problem with the other employees: The primary problem with the other employees
is that they believe that the pay system is unfair in nature and that the new expatriates are
being paid more than themselves which demotivates them and hence, affects the
performance of the employees.

3CASE STUDY ACTIVITIES
3. The different costs associated: With the extra pay there are a large number of costs
associated with the organization and hence, this has an impact on the profitability of the
organization (Youtube.com. ,2018).
Answer to Question 2
Advice to Renate
After analyzing the case study the following advice can be given to Renate:
 Research deeper: She needs to have a solid research background for the case of Anne and
her compensation package is required to be prepared based on comparison with the other
organizations which shall thereby assist her to ensure success in the long run
(Schermerhorn, 2016). With respect to this it is very important that Renate considers the
case study of other related organizations and forms a research on the same.
 Undertake a cost benefit analysis: As the pay being given to Anne is very high, Renate is
required to see to it that the organization conducts an efficient cost benefit analysis which
will be discussing the pros as well as cons of the employment and the benefits she will be
providing to the organization.
 Engage in a conversation with the CEO for a fair pay system: The unequal pay system
needs to be removed at present and thus for this reason, Renate needs to discuss the issue
with the CEO in order to ensure success.
Answer to Question 3
Management competencies
The management competencies which are important in the VUCA world are as follows:

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 Cross cultural awareness: The managers are required to be cross culturally aware in a
multinational firm so that they are easily able to ensure success for the firm.
 Legal knowledge: Secondly the managers are required to possess legal knowledge about
the organization which shall then enable them to successfully decide on the salary
structure of the firm.
 Conflict resolution: The third competency is that the manager must possess the capability
of a conflict resolution which will go a long way in ensuring success for the organization.
 Decision making: Lastly in a VUCA setup the managers are required to possess adequate
decision making skills.
Case discussion activity for Topic 10
From the given case study of the Parivar organization, it can be rightfully stated that the
main problem with the firm is the clash of culture which takes place. It can be rightfully
witnessed in the case study that the organization is being managed by people who belong to
different mindsets and the direct impact of this can be witnessed in the high turnover rate.
The given case study states the organizational structure can be described to be
hierarchical in nature whereby the division between the top management and the lower level
employed people can be stated to be quite large and the newer employees are allotted the
different mentors from the upper level of the organization which makes the culture associated
with a love culture (Schermerhorn, 2016). According to me, as the company is based in India, its
organizational culture has been greatly influenced by the culture of the country and due to this
reason, there have been considerable clashes among the mindset of the different members as the
country has been progressing considerably.
Answer to Question 1

5CASE STUDY ACTIVITIES
The different conflicting values as present in the case study with respect to organizational
design are as follows:
 The culture of the organization: The culture of Parivar is quite paternalistic which acts as
one of the biggest conflicting values as present in the organization. The new employees
prefer a culture which is competitive and provides them with a greater advantage at large,
with higher salaries (Mohrman & Lawler, 2014). However, the mentorship culture of the
organization is believed to have restricted the different employees and acts as a
conflicting culture.
 The thought process of various board members: The thought process of the different
board members is quite different from one another and it is due to this reason that the
conflict arises. The members are not supportive of the People program and hence, this has
led to different arguments.
 The positioning of the company: The positioning of the firm in the market has been quite
lower than expected as compared to competitor firms and hence, this acts as a conflicting
value.
Answer to Question 2
Advice to Sudhir
After reading the case study, the following advice can be provided to Sudhir
 Letting loose of the culture: Sudhir needs to let go of the love culture. From the
beginning of the case study, Sudhir has been very consistent about the success of his love
culture even though the turnover rate of the organization has reached to a rate of 35%.

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Hence, to bring about any change it is suggested that he lets go of this culture component
(McGregor & Doshi, 2015).
 Encouraging the People support program: As stated by the different experts, the People
support program is quite good and helps the existing employees to find some relief with
respect to work pressure (Youtube.com. ,2018). Hence, it is very important that the
program continues which will then go a long way in assisting the firm`s success.
 Increasing compensation: The compensation of the organization needs to increase
considerably and at par with the competitors of the firm.
Answer to Question 3
Proposed structure
It is advised that as per the retention rate it can be stated that the hierarchical culture of
the firm has not been working well for the organization and thus for this reason, the organization
will be benefiting more in a case it applies a flat structure with all the employees at par and no
mentorship program.

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References
Baker, T. (2017). How can we solve the problem of harmful organising structures? Retrieved
from http://www.hrmonline.com.au/social-media/solve-harmful-organisingstructures/
Kramar, Bartram, DeCieri, Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, Wright (2014). Human resource
management in Australia - Strategy, people, performance (5th ed., pp. 6-12. ). North
Ryde, NSW: McGraw-Hill.
McGregor, L., & Doshi, N. (2015). How company culture affects employee motivation. Harvard
Business Review Digital Articles, 2-9.
Mohrman, S., & Lawler, E. E. (2014). Designing organizations for sustainable effectiveness: A
new paradigm for organizations and academic researchers. Journal of Organizational
Effectiveness: People and Performance, 1(1), 14-34.
Schermerhorn, J. R. (2016). Network structures. Management (6th Asia-Pacific ed., pp. 276-
292) [Wiley]. Retrieved from
https://ebookcentral-proquestcom.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/CSUAU/detail.action?
docID=4748100.
Schermerhorn, J. R. (2016). Organising as a management function. Management (6th Asia-
Pacific ed., p. 279) [Wiley]. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-
proquestcom.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/CSUAU/detail.action?docID=4748100.
Youtube.com. (2018). `Topic 10 Designing organisations [the parts, and how and why they fit
together] (YouTube) | Available at: https://youtu.be/KDfvESEESUI (Accessed on 26
Sept.2018)

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Youtube.com. (2018). `Topic 9 Managing people [hands, hearts and minds] (YouTube) |
Available at: https://youtu.be/TcrwII6gbTU (Accessed on 26 Sept.2018)